Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream of a Tree

King Nebuchadnezzar, To the nations and peoples of every language, who live in all the earth: May you prosper greatly!

These are the visions I saw while lying in bed: I looked, and there before me stood a tree in the middle of the land. Its height was enormous.

The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth.

He called in a loud voice: ‘Cut down the tree and trim off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches.

The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth,

Your Majesty, you are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth.

“Your Majesty saw a holy one, a messenger, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump, bound with iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, while its roots remain in the ground. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven; let him live with the wild animals, until seven times pass by for him.’

The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules.